In the season of polls and balloting, I ran a little poll. Everyone e-mailed me about it, but few voted. Well, we are at a crossroads in our Norwegian adventure. And to quote some rock & roll lyrics, "Should we stay or should we go now?".
Norway is a small country with more beauty than is believable. Around nearly every corner, my mouth drops open. So beautiful. Even the everyday sites, like the pine forests behind our house...covered in snow. Beautiful.
But okay already. Beauty is wonderful. But, as we are house shopping, we can't help but wonder - is this really it? Do we dig in and continue to build our lives here...in Norway? Or, do we go back to the US. Or, with the United Arab Emirates economy growing like crazy do we make a lot of $ and then kick back and retire in a few years?
Before we relocated to Noway we had job leads and contacts in Dubai. All of our contacts left us a little smitten. Kind of, well, like Bush during his recent trip to Dubai. I felt a little like the '49ers who wanted to head west to find gold and make a lot of moola. There are no income taxes in Dubai. And the cost of living large is very low. A lot of great private schools filled with American and British kids who have parents working in Dubai to join the folks making serious money.
Okay, so back to Norway. Norway is tough. I read the book Norway, Culture Shock. Had I read it before the plane trip to Norway, I probably wouldn't have relocated. It has been hard for me in particular to "fit in" in Norway. The book says that people in Norway can live next door to folks for years without sharing anything more than a wave. Okay, so that doesn't impress me. Nancy - are you out there? I liked our neighbors in Kansas. Good folks, who always "had our backs".
Norwegians - in general, and according to the books and our reality, are stoic and not outgoing (which can often be interpreted as they are not very friendly to people who are not in their immediate social circle). They are very low key (and there are exceptions). Networking here is hard. Making friends has been, well - I have no Norwegian friends. And everything from the lousy cuts of meat to the dark days to the six feet of snow in my front yard have not left me impressed.
JH tells me that there have been campaigns in Norway to try to improve the customer service skills of people working with the public. It seems that a lot of people still have not got that training. Most often, people do their job. It has not been my experience that customer service is done with a smile, or even an acknowledgement of interpersonal skills except that Norwegians do make great eye contact. No pun intended, but the eye contact does give me a glimmer or hope for a better system of friendly customer service.
I have talked a lot with Norwegian friends (of JH's that have lived in the US), they have indicated that they did not recognize the asocial societal behaviors while living in Norway, but upon returning they definitely notice. I guess as an American, I grew-up being brainwashed by McDonald's customer service style - or maybe it was Hy-Vee...'service with a smile'. People in America call and visit and drop-in. We haven't experienced that in Norway...yet. We feel pretty isolated.
Will it get better? Yep. Seriously, I know it will. But on the lonely, dark days I feel like the donkey chasing the carrot. I think that getting a job will help. Instead of waiting until Autumn to find a job, I have started looking. I will keep the blog updated on my search but I am currently a finalist for two jobs. The only strong strike against me will be my non-fluent Norwegian language skills.
NK is much happier at the local elementary and he is getting a busier social life. So, moving would only interrupt everything he has worked hard to build...a growing circle of friends and a school he likes.
JH likes his job - a lot. He really wants to stay with the company...but, like me he is quite frustrated with Norwegian society. This society does have a lot of pluses, but we believe our dissatisfaction stems from the tribal rules to Norwegian society being so hard to figure out. Communication here isn't stellar. NK's old school in Wichita sent home so many fliers we really began to questions the fact that they are an environmental school. They were great. Here, communication isn't very good, and it is wide spread. Although at a recent parents meeting at NK's school the parent leaders stood-up and made demands for more and better communication between home and school. So, there is hope.
So - are we suffering from Culture Shock? Yep, especially me. I guess that even though I have traveled a lot and visited new cultures and experienced various societies, I didn't realize how good my life was in the United States until I left. And, as many of you have advised it will get better. I/we will get more acclimated as time goes by. Maybe, some day, I will even enjoy the distant emotional nature in Norwegian society.
Okay, will we stay in Norway? Yes, probably - and especially if I can find a job. I have realized that I am a lousy and dissatisfied homemaker! Are we going to keep our options open? Yes.
I will keep the blog posted/updated.
JH, NK, my mom and me along the old wharf in Bergen. Bergen has ancient roots and is called the city on seven mountains. Modern day Bergen should be called the city of tunnels - because there are a lot of them! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergen 
We visitied JH's old buddy from his military days in officer's training. Arnt and Anita and their puppy Anty live in Bergen.
NK and Anita had a lot of fun skating at an indoor rink near the military base where we stayed.
I could be wrong but I think this is the old fire station.
Fish mongers.
Yum - dinner!
The old castle and military fortress are in the background behind this ship. We have visited the site on previous trips to Bergen.
The military hotel where we stayed.
An old mine turned into a monument downtown Bergen.
Arnt and his pup along the wharf.
Me and NK strolling around.
